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Search Results for: 10 best
10 Best Books for College Teachers Update
Now that the year is coming to a close, it’s time to pick up where my previous recommendations for books for college teachers left off. In alphabetical order, we have: The Spark of Learning by Sarah Rose Cavanagh: I’ve written … Continue reading
Posted in Pedagogy
Tagged 10 best books for college teachers, assessment, course design, pedagogy, racism, teaching and learning
1 Comment
The 10 Best Books for College Teachers — Part 2
My list of the books that have sparked the biggest changes in how and why I teach continues this week. What are your favorites? Share your recommendations in the “Leave a comment” box below or email me at CStover1@madisoncollege.edu. 6. … Continue reading
The 10 Best Books for College Teachers – Part 1
As a college teacher who spent many hours during the last ten years reading books, articles, and conference proposals on the art and science of teaching, I believe that the best books for college teachers are the ones that provide … Continue reading
Best of 2021: Book Prescriptions
As we finish this difficult year, I’m wondering how I can thank my readers for sticking with me. Blogs can’t offer hugs, a place to go scream, a few extra hours of sleep, or stiff drinks. However, I can prescribe … Continue reading
Best 2020 Book Prescriptions
If 2020 was a great year for you, stop reading. This blog post is not for you. If, however, 2020 presented you with some real challenges, and you are looking for some prescriptions in the form of book recommendations, here … Continue reading
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if fails, at least fails while daring greatly…”
After reading two biographies of Theodore Roosevelt this summer, I was interested in the author of a book that pays homage to him by drawing on his famous 1910 speech for its title and opening chapter. I’ve come to the … Continue reading
Posted in non-fiction
Tagged being vulnerable, Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, in the arena, taking risks, Theodore Roosevelt
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“A better grading system would build in incentives for students to aim high, work hard, and do their best.”
Ever since I read Carol Dweck’s book Mindset five years ago, I have been looking for a new approach to grading. I wanted to find a way to give grades that supported a growth mindset. I was looking for a … Continue reading
Posted in Pedagogy
Tagged Carol Dweck, Growth Mindset, Linda Nilson, Specifications grading, student motivation
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
Charles Dickens’ famous opening sentence ends with the astonishing idea that the turbulent period leading up to the French Revolution was “like the present period.” The present period! Was he warning leaders against making the mistake of ignoring the horrible … Continue reading
Best Books of 2018: Five Favorites
The books I have recommended most often to my friends this year are: Pioneers! Strong families! Resourcefulness! I’ve always been drawn to the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I’ve often recommended her books to those who are learning to … Continue reading
Best Books for College Teachers in 2017
Of the books published in 2017, here is my list of the five that have added the most to my understanding of our students, our challenges as instructors, and our need to reform our educational system. iGen by Jean Twenge: … Continue reading
Posted in Pedagogy
Tagged Andrea Petersen, Breakaway Learners, Cathy Davidson, iGen, Jean Twenge, Karen Gross, Norman Eng, On Edge, Teaching College, The New Education
1 Comment
“However carved up or pared down we get, we keep on making the best of it…”
An extra punch — which distinguishes the extraordinary poetry of Kay Ryan — hits us in the title poem in this collection, “The Best of It.” At first, it seems that she’s telling us to make do, but then the … Continue reading
Posted in poetry
Tagged humor in poetry, Kay Ryan, Pulitzer Prize for poetry, United States Poet Laureate
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“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
Because we all make questionable decisions from time to time, it’s only natural to wonder if we are our own worst enemy, or if we are the hero in our life, or something in between. Many memoirs begin with this … Continue reading
Posted in fiction
Tagged a favorite novelist, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, fictionalized autobiography, hero
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“I am going to write about all this one day, I told her, and she smiled at me.”
This is the final sentence of Hua Hsu’s memoir. He is thanking his therapist for helping him deal with the death of his best friend. I imagine his therapist smiled because she knew that writing a memoir based on trauma … Continue reading